Veteran midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala came off the bench to secure a much-needed victory for Kaizer Chiefs as his header sealed a 1-0 Absa Premiership success at struggling Platinum Stars on Saturday.
In a game of few chances, Tshabalala's diving header from a Philani Zulu cross with 20 minutes remaining eased the pressure on coach Steve Komphela and took Chiefs up to third in the table.
Bongi Ntuli and Katlego Otladisa had chances for Stars in the first half, with Chiefs offering little in return.
The introduction of Tshabalala and fellow veteran Bernard Parker on 56 minutes gave the visitors an added spark up front, and the former claimed his third goal of the season with a rare headed finish.
It is relief for Komphela, but the performance against the side that are bottom of the Absa Premiership was still well below par.
Ntsikelelo Nyauza scored at both ends at Orlando Pirates were held to a 1-1 draw by AmaZulu at Orlando Stadium.
The point was enough to lift Pirates to the top of the table with a single-point lead, but they have played four more games than Mamelodi Sundowns in second place.
Nyauza had put the ball into his own net in the first half, but he then reacted quickest to a rebound to secure an equaliser after Thabo Qalinge's shot had come back off the AmaZulu post.
SuperSport United were held to a 1-1 draw by Cape Town City in a fixture played in Mbombela.
Aubrey Ngoma, only recently back from a long-term injury, scored his first goal of the season to give City the lead, keeping up his impressive record against SuperSport.
City wasted a number of opportunities to make it 2-0, and were punished in the sixth minute of injury-time at the end of the game as Nigerian defender Azubuike Egwuekwe headed home an equaliser.
SuperSport are five points behind leader Pirates, but have a massive six games in hand.
League champions Bidvest Wits needed a late equaliser from forward Eleazar Rodgers to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Polokwane City.
The hosts had gone ahead through striker Rodney Ramagalela, who netted his seventh league goal of the season, and looked on course for the win until Rodgers popped up in injury-time to secure a point for the recently crowned Telkom Knockout champions.
Wits have now won just two of their 13 league games this season and their expected revival, and rise up the table, has yet to materialise. Ajax Cape Town claimed a 1-0 success against nine-man Chippa United in their 'home' fixture that was played in Johannesburg due to a lack of adequate stadia in the Mother City.
Thabo Mosadi gave Ajax a deserved first-half lead with a fine run and finish, after which Chippa had Zitha Macheke sent off just before halftime. Ajax could not kill off the game however, and were made to sweat into injury-time, when Chippa lost Nigeria's World Cup-bound goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi to a professional foul.
Ajax were able to hold on for a morale-boosting win that might just have saved the job of relieved coach Stanley Menzo.